Simon Saves

Simon Saves I help young adults turn small money into real wealth.

$50/month will transform your life. No fluff, just simple strategy! Follow to stop being broke.

She didn’t make a fortune, but she built one! 🤷🏼‍♂️The following is a true story from a follower who contacted me. (I sh...
05/11/2026

She didn’t make a fortune, but she built one! 🤷🏼‍♂️

The following is a true story from a follower who contacted me. (I shared with permission.) This is part 1 of a 2 part mother/daughter series.

Mom works in healthcare and started contributing 6% on day 1! Over the years she kept increasing her retirement contribution along with her raises.

I refer to it as the “Double Jump” method.

I deserve no credit for the post below, she did this all on her own 💪🏻 but it’s the same exact thing I teach.

This system flat out works.

Even with an increase in bonds and lower returns when nearing retirement, she’s on track for just under $2 million dollars 🤯

She has already started teaching her daughter the same mindset, but we can drastically improve the situation with DIY broad market investing.

2 simple changes should result in a massive difference in return.

That’s what we’ll cover in part 2. Follow to see how we do it!

Incorrectly allocating your target date funds could cost you $500,000.Target Date Funds are great for set it and forget ...
05/11/2026

Incorrectly allocating your target date funds could cost you $500,000.

Target Date Funds are great for set it and forget it investing. That said, the “set it” part has ONE crucial component:

How you allocate your funds.

When you set up your retirement, did you tell your advisor you wanted a modest or moderate allocation? That means you have lots of bonds in your portfolio.

Now, if you’re close to retiring… bonds are good. They help protect you from catastrophic loss during crashes.

If you’re 50 or under, then growth is the name of the game. In that case bonds hold you back. Sure they soften the impact of a crash, but being young you have one important factor on your side:

Time.

Sure you might lose more money in a downturn, but you’ll make it back quicker in the way back up!

Young people can withstand some volatility. A smooth sea doesn’t make a sailor.

I only mentioned the first 20 years of potential growth. What is possible from that time until retirement?

CHECK THE COMMENTS!

The numbers used here are for educational purposes only.

05/10/2026

Not going to post finance content today. I’m spending time with my wife and family instead.

Happy Mother’s Day to all the hard working mamas out there. I hope your day is amazing!

The S&P500 crashed nearly 37% in 2008.Retirement is less about growing wealth and more about surviving crashes. A couple...
05/09/2026

The S&P500 crashed nearly 37% in 2008.

Retirement is less about growing wealth and more about surviving crashes. A couple bad years in a row can deplete your savings quickly.

When you’re young and still contributing, volatility is easier to handle. But large drops while WITHDRAWING… that’s an entirely different situation.

Recoveries are much tougher while withdrawing instead of contributing.

This is why mixing a healthy dose of bonds in your portfolio (typically 40-50%) is an excellent idea for Edwin and Emma. Will they lag on the growth years? Yes, absolutely.

But they’ll also protect themselves on the bad years.

Avoiding catastrophic loss is the name of the game in retirement. Bonds will absolutely help with that.

This content shows actual returns from the 2007-2016 time frame. However this is for educational purposes and is not investment advice.

Past performance does not guarantee future returns.

The issue with mutual funds!With a mutual fund, you can sometimes get hit with taxes even if you never sold anything. Th...
05/08/2026

The issue with mutual funds!

With a mutual fund, you can sometimes get hit with taxes even if you never sold anything. That sounds insane, but here’s why it happens:

Mutual funds must distribute capital gains!

When people sell out of a mutual fund, the fund manager may need to sell underlying stocks to raise cash.

If those stocks were sold at a profit the fund creates capital gains. By law mutual funds pass those gains to shareholders.

So you might open your account and see:
“Capital gains distribution: $2,000”

Even though:
- you never sold
- you never withdrew money
- you reinvested everything

The IRS still considers that taxable income. 🙄

Example:

- You invest $100,000
- The mutual fund distributes a 5% capital gain
- That’s $5,000 of taxable gains

If you’re in the 15% long-term capital gains bracket, you now owe about $750 in taxes despite never touching the money. 😡

That creates “tax drag” over decades.

Why ETFs are different:

ETFs like VOO use a mechanism called in-kind creation/redemption.

Basically, investors trade shares with each other on the market. The ETF usually doesn’t have to sell stocks internally.

That means ETFs can avoid realizing capital gains much more efficiently.

So:

- fewer taxable distributions
- better tax efficiency
- more compounding stays invested

“But mutual funds like FXAIX are solid! A 0.015% expense ratio?! That’s practically free. What’s the solution?”

Most investors don’t put mutual funds in a taxable brokerage. The key is account placement: retirement accounts.

Now you know.

Have a great weekend everyone!

This can be applied in many ways. I feel it’s especially true for finances.What is holding you back? Let me know in the ...
05/08/2026

This can be applied in many ways. I feel it’s especially true for finances.

What is holding you back? Let me know in the comments!

Teaching your kids financial literacy is the best inheritance you could ever give them. Building generational wealth isn...
05/07/2026

Teaching your kids financial literacy is the best inheritance you could ever give them.

Building generational wealth isn’t the hard part. Maintaining it across generations is. Families that preserve their wealth usually have one thing in common:

They pass their knowledge on to their kids when they’re young.

The fact that 90% of family wealth is gone by the 3rd generation is a mind blowing statistic.

Handing them a large sum of money isn’t the gift. Teaching them how to grow, manage, and protect their own is.

If they know what to do with their finances, they’ll know what to do with yours too.

People who build wealth slowly rarely go broke fast.
05/07/2026

People who build wealth slowly rarely go broke fast.

80-90% of financial advisors can’t beat the S&P500 index long term. No matter how bad you don’t want that to be true… it...
05/07/2026

80-90% of financial advisors can’t beat the S&P500 index long term.

No matter how bad you don’t want that to be true… it is!

I hear it all the time:
“Yeah but they know what they’re doing! They’ll get me higher returns so it’s worth the fees.”

I’m sorry but in the majority of cases that is simply not true.

If you’re paying 0.5% for a fund (like a target date fund) PLUS paying your advisor a 0.5% fee, that WILL cost you over 6 figures long term if they don’t outperform the market.

Some of you might lose $250,000.

Here’s what you do:
Schedule a meeting with your advisor(s).

Ask them:
- what their advisory fee is.
- what the expense ratios are on your holdings
- what your 10 year annualized return has been.

Then compare it to the benchmark 🤷🏼‍♂️

According to my ETF calculator, VOO has returned 15.52% from May 7, 2016 to May 7,2026.

If your accounts haven’t beat that, you’re paying someone to UNDERPERFORM the market.

Thats like sending your kid to a more expensive school where they don’t learn as much 😬

Investing doesn’t have to be complicated. All you need:

- Low expense ratio
- consistency
- patience
- broad market exposure

This content is for educational purposes only. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

A Roth IRA is not just another retirement account!It gives you:- Tax Free Growth- Tax Free Retirement Withdrawals- NO mi...
05/06/2026

A Roth IRA is not just another retirement account!

It gives you:
- Tax Free Growth
- Tax Free Retirement Withdrawals
- NO minimum required distributions
- Flexible access to withdrawals: withdraw any time!
- Powerful Wealth Transfer Benefits

Understanding HOW a Roth account works is just as important as opening one.

Swipe through both slides to learn what you need to know!

Save this post so you don’t forget, and follow Simon Saves for more simple investing and retirement breakdowns.

I post daily!

This one is a follower’s request! I’ve been showing how low/mid income earners can reach millionaire (sometimes multi-mi...
05/06/2026

This one is a follower’s request!

I’ve been showing how low/mid income earners can reach millionaire (sometimes multi-millionaire) status with time and consistency.

I was specifically asked to calculate a nurse practitioner’s wages, so here is a great example of what is possible with a high income while resisting lifestyle inflation:

Tara FINALLY graduated! 👩‍🎓

At $110,000 annually, her wage is excellent. Her husband makes $70-80k in the trades, so between them, bills and Tara’s student loans are very manageable.

Could they afford a fancy $700k house and $60k vehicles?

Absolutely. But their goal is freedom and traveling the world during retirement. They both want to retire at 62, 100% debt free. 💪🏻

Rather than keeping up with the Joneses, they spend intentionally:
-$450k house
-$20-25k vehicles
-Consistent investing

They aren’t suffering. They’re choosing simplicity and not to live lavishly.

With 5% company match and a healthy 15% contribution, stacking money into retirement EARLY will undoubtedly pay off for Tara. 💴

Age 28-37:
$110,000 salary
$16,5000 401k contribution
$5,500 match
Balance after 10 years: $335,332

Age 38-47:
$125,000 salary
$18,750 401k contribution
$6,250 match
Balance after 20 years: $1,125,415

Age 48-57
$140,000 salary
$21,000 401k contribution
$7,000 match
Balance after 30 years: $2,924,829

Age 58-62
$150,000 salary
$22,500 401k contribution
$7,500 match
Balance after 35 years: $4,541,236

Using the 4% rule she can now withdraw $181,649 annually. Not only is that $31,000 more than she made while working, she no longer has a retirement contribution to worry about!

That’s an extra $50,000 in flexibility. 😳

- She can afford multiple vacations annually
- She can afford to help her grandkids get on their feet.
- She can also afford fancy vehicles if she wants one!
- Living comfortably with zero financial stress

The biggest flex isn’t a new SUV at 35. It’s having complete freedom at 62.

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Alexandria, MN

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